THE O.J. SIMPSON MURDER TRIAL : TV Ban Urged if Simpson Is Retried : Law: County supervisors say television coverage is to blame for the lengthy trial and resulting expenses.

The County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to respectfully request that court officials bar television coverage of any retrial of O.J. Simpson if the present case ends in a mistrial.

The supervisors, voting unanimously with Supervisor Deane Dana absent, said the action was warranted because of the spiraling costs to the county of trying Simpson and their belief that television cameras in the courtroom are prolonging the proceedings.

“One has to have their head in the sand not to recognize that the presence of television has been the single biggest factor in elongating the trial,” said Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who brought Tuesday’s motion.

With the cash-strapped county facing a possible $1-billion budget deficit in the 1995-96 fiscal year, the monthly Simpson tab--nearing $1 million--has become a key issue with supervisors, who have attempted, so far unsuccessfully, to find ways to make the media pay a portion of the costs. Total trial costs have topped $5 million to date.

In his motion, Yaroslavsky states that neither the U.S. Supreme Court nor lower courts have ever held that the public’s 1st Amendment right of access to judicial proceedings extends to cameras.

A California law adopted in 1984 gives discretion to permit televised coverage to the trial judge, who may limit or bar cameras “in the interests of justice to protect the rights of the parties and the dignity of the court, or to assure the orderly conduct of the proceedings.”

The “relentless glare” of media attention, “including the continuous televising of the proceedings, clearly has shed more heat than light on the proceedings--wilting the jury to the point where the continued viability of the trial itself is in grave doubt,” Yaroslavsky said.

Supervisor Gloria Molina echoed Yaroslavsky’s comments, saying she doubted that televised coverage of the Simpson trial had benefited anyone.

“I was very disturbed by the discussion of the rights of the public to view the autopsy photos,” she said. “I think that is an invasion of privacy.”

Media and 1st Amendment attorneys denounced the board’s action as being reckless and irresponsible and asserted that the supervisors, in their rush to hold down costs, are attempting to influence a separate branch of government.

“It’s an insult to the judge, the jury and trial participants who are trying to perform their function in a conscientious way,” said Douglas E. Mirell, an attorney representing the American Civil Liberties Union before the board. “It’s presumptuous to tell another branch of government how to do its job.”

Attorney Kelli L. Sager, representing The Times and major television networks, said there is no evidence to prove that courtroom cameras have influenced the duration of the trial.

Simpson defense attorney Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. “is not arguing anything any differently when the cameras are on as opposed to when the cameras are off,” she said.

And she noted that trial Judge Lance A. Ito and Presiding Superior Court Judge Gary Klausner have been hesitant to attribute soaring trial costs to cameras in the courtroom.

Indeed, it is unclear what effect, if any, the supervisors’ action will have on any future Simpson proceedings.

Klausner, to whom the board’s request will be directed, was on vacation and unavailable for comment Tuesday.

But earlier this year, he denied a request from the board to charge the media for costs associated with broadcasting the Simpson trial.